I think about something Ben told me two years ago after K left, specifically in regard to The Other Man.

He was just a guy she worked with. I don't know much about him, not even sure of his name. I'm sure they had a flirtatious relationship at work and she felt that tingle that she had felt about someone new, something our three years and constant 200-mile radius inhibited.

What Ben said about The Other Man was that he didn't matter, that what developed between them had nothing to do with our relationship falling apart, her leaving for Korea. He was just something she distracted herself with while the miserable stuff blew over.

I don't know what to make of it all now that I'm The Other Man. Sam may not be officially dating her guy in Chicago, but there's history and a tether between them. It's strained and frayed, but it's there, and it makes me the interloper.

He might feel awful when he catches wind of me; he shouldn't.

I think of the past. Maybe there's something I can say to change the course, change my role in all of this. Lately I've been feeling like it might be fixed. This might just might be the way it is.